Want to take the stress out of buying your new boat? A crew member of our experienced team, Raman Flawn has shared his tips on preparing for a marine survey.
As part of the process of taking ownership of your boat, you'll need to ensure it's in good condition and are well acquainted with any items that could need immediate attention. For this, a marine survey and sea trial is required, performed by a certified marine surveyor.
What's involved in getting a survey and sea trial?
- Locating and engaging a qualified marine surveyor
- There are many surveyors in the industry and all I've worked with are knowledgeable, professional, friendly, and approachable.
- They are your consultant for the boat you have an interest in, so it is highly recommended that you, as a purchaser, are present for the survey, so your surveyor can discuss items with you first hand. If you cannot be physically present, try to make yourself available over some form of video link for some of the survey so items can be pointed out to you.
- They will provide a comprehensive report on the overall condition of the boat, along with recommendations on any remedies required.
- Locating and booking a vessel haul out
- A critical part of a marine survey is the haul out for inspecting any underwater components.
- You'll need locate a haul out facility, then specify the weight, length, and type of vessel while making the booking. Not all haul out facilities can cater for all vessel types and weights.
- Ensuring the boat owners representative is present for the survey
- Either the boat owner or their representative needs to be present for the survey. This is often the broker as they have authority to act for the owner, make decisions about any work needed during the haul out such as a hull blast, and take control of the vessel into and out of any haul out cranes, along with moving the vessel to and from its normal berth or mooring place.
- No one else is authorised to move the vessel.
- Setting aside enough time for a complete survey
- Allow around a half day for the survey and don't be in a hurry to rush off to other appointments. A survey can sometimes take an unpredictable amount of time, especially when there's a queue for the haul out and you've been bumped to second place in the queue, or the hull of the vessel being surveyed needs substantial time to be properly cleaned so it can be inspected.
- Bring appropriate clothing and PPE
- During the winter months, an early morning survey is going to be a cold and damp experience. It's important you're comfortable as well as dry so bring something to wear that will allow you to stay dry if there's water spray about.
- Wear enclosed shoes so you can get access to discuss certain items of interest with your surveyor.
- Bring ear protection if you're planning for a full mechanical survey. The engine bay will be open for some of the sea trial and the sound shielding provided by ear protection will help with your comfort.
- From time to time, haul out facilities can get very busy. For this reason, some haul out facilities also require hi-vis clothing. I personally use a hi-vis vest that folds up into my pocket and gives me assurance that I'm going to be easily seen.
There are different types of surveys and some buyers are caught out by not understanding the difference. There's the full vessel and mechanical survey that includes the boat, its fittings, electrical components, structural soundness, and of course the engines. Then there's the non-mechanical survey, which will cover all the structural components, fittings, and general soundness, but will not cover the engines. If you're embarking on a pre-purchase survey, our recommendation is to specify a full survey including engines from your surveyor. Some surveyors will not be able to conduct the complete survey themselves but will be able to engage a qualified mechanic to assist.
Next, you will need to book a lift for haul-out so the hull, any skin fittings, props, anodes, condition of any antifoul applications, and bearings can be checked. Normally, this is the purchaser's responsibility to book and pay for the haul out, though your broker will be able to assist with the haul-out booking. They have knowledge of the nearest haul-out facilities that are capable of handling the size and weight of the vessel to be inspected. Pre-purchase haul outs are normally the first item of the day for the shipyard, so expect to have an early start to your morning.
Always make sure the haul-out operators are aware of the types of drive train used on the vessel, and if possible, where any lift places are marked. Your broker will know this in advance and will discuss this with the lift operator immediately prior to fitting the lift harness to the vessel. This is critical as substantial damage can be caused by not fitting haul-out harnesses correctly.
During the haul-out, your surveyor will tap the hull listening for changes in the sounds that may indicate osmosis in the hull. They will also check for unwanted movement in props or bearings as well as the condition of sacrificial anodes. Most haul out facilities are co-located with shipyards, so it's also a good opportunity to replace any worn anodes if they available at the time from the shipyard. You may need permission from the owner to do this, but if you are definitely proceeding with the purchase, it will save you some cost down the line.
The order of proceedings is to perform the hull inspection first, followed by the sea trial. There's a reason for this. Performing a sea trial with a barnacle encrusted hull or damage props serves no valid purpose, so the option to have the hull cleaned prior to the sea trial means the sea trial can deliver meaningful results on the boat's performance.
Before hull clean
After hull clean
If the hull is heavily encrusted, cleaning and blasting is unavoidable since the surveyor cannot perform their task completely without clear access to the items they need to check. Furthermore, since some antifoul may be removed during the hull cleaning and blasting process, so the shipyard will always ask permission to clean and water blast the hull prior to the inspection. Your broker will have obtained permission from the boat's owner and will be authorised to allow this to proceed.
The sea trial part of the survey will give some additional insight into the overall condition of the engines, along with the inspection of the engines by the mechanic. The surveyor will have information about how the particular make and model of vessel is supposed to perform, based on the manufacturers 'as new' specifications. With a clean hull, you'll head out for the sea trial and measure top speed, engine RPM, fuel usage at certain speeds, noting any vibrations to give a summary of the power train among other things. Obviously, this is unachievable without a clean hull.
Some mechanical surveyors may also offer to take oil samples and have these analysed to provide an even more detailed view of the state of the engines. Oil samples are analysed to take measurements of the types and prevalence of various metals in the oil. By analysing the metals with the type of engine, a determination of normal wear and tear versus abnormal can be made, along with where within the engine any abnormal wear is occurring.
In summary, the most important part of embarking on a marine survey is to ensure you are comfortable with your surveyor. They are your consultant in the pre-purchase process. As said previously, all the surveyors I've met during the surveys I've participated in have been great and have provided valuable information to their clients, not only about the particular vessel they are inspecting but also about the make and model in general. They will have a wealth of knowledge about how to maintain the vessel and can also provide some good opinions on improvements as well.
Once you've received your survey report, you'll be well informed about your intended purchase. You'll also have a valuable document as a reference for your boat, along with the required documentation to obtain marine insurance for the boat.